Solar Energy & Installation FAQs
Find answers to your burning questions about solar.
About iDEAL Energies
We service Minnesota only, anywhere there is an incentive that we can apply to our customer's projects. Historically, most of the work we've done is in Xcel Territory, but with the new Solar for Schools Grant, we are expanding to cover the state.
We are a Minneapolis based company that warehouses locally.
We are the only vertically integrated, full-service solar developer in Minnesota. This give us control over the entire project, from start to finish. You'll find our communication and attention to detail unmatched in the industry.
We use a partnership approach with our customers, tying our success to yours...
Our focus is solely on on-site commercial solar.
FAQs
- About iDEAL Energies
- Operations & Maintenance
- Solar Project Timing
- Solar Equipment
- Public Sector Financing
- Private Sector Financing
Operations & Maintenance
NO! iDEAL Energies works with your roofing vendor to follow their specific roof warranty overburden requirements to assure that your existing roof warranty stays intact with solar installed.
Making sure your roof warranty stays intact is integral part of our standard process.
Yes! The energy savings from your solar array will help pay for your new roof.
Taking down and reinstalling the solar panels during a roof replacement event costs approximately two years of energy savings.
Solar arrays require minimal maintenance. In MN, there is no need to clean the solar arrays or to remove snow during winter months. Our financial modeling takes this into account.
iDEAL Energies includes O&M services for our school customers as part of our standard agreement.
Solar Project Timing
Yes! The energy savings from your solar array will help pay for your new roof.
Taking down and reinstalling the solar panels during a roof replacement event costs approximately two years of energy savings.
6 - 9 months
Installation time varies with system size, utility programs leveraged, time to receive utility interconnection approval, and weather.
iDEAL Energies completes the installation of your solar array with minimal impact on your day-to-day activities.
iDEAL Energies offers design consulting services to our new construction customers to ensure that buildings are designed to be solar capable and installing solar becomes a seamless part of the construction process.
Solar Equipment
Commercial solar panels are getting about 1.5% more efficient every year. This means you can get about 1.5% more electricity generated in the same footprint on a roof every year.No doubt more power in a smaller footprint is a good thing. However, in Minnesota a company is only allowed to generate 120% of the electricity it consumed in the prior year. So, if you have enough roof space available to generate that 120%, there is essentially no benefit in a more efficient solar array. As a side note, the cost to install a solar array has remained relatively unchanged for the last few years with a slight reduction year over year.
Solar panels degrade at approximately .5% per year and the solar industry offers a standard panel manufacturer’s warranty covering production for 30 years.
The quality of the PV Panels we use are engineered to high resistance. They have an international standard minimum of 1” diameter hail traveling at 50 mph. Damage from debris, hail or storms are very rare, but is generally covered under your insurance plan.
The rain helps to wash away dust and dirt. Although not as effective as on a sunny day, producing 10-25% of its regular capacity, solar energy can still be converted on a cloudy day. Germany, which gets as much sunshine as the state of Alaska, is the world’s top solar panel installer, producing 31% of the world’s renewable energy.
Ongoing research in the field has created ever more efficient and standardized technology. No longer a novel product, most solar panels today are interchangeable and come with long warranties and production guarantees.
Your needs will depend up on the your energy consumption and the size of your building / and adjacent grounds. First, we review your annual energy consumption, which can be obtained from your utility bill. Next, we look at the physical size of your facility and/or available land. Commercial systems can range in size from 20 kW up to 1000 kW, with a footprint of roughly 100 square feet per kW.
Certain conditions determine how optimal your site is for solar, including: direct sun exposure, shading, slope and which direction the roof is facing.
Although most PV panels produced today will have a useful life for decades, there is inevitable waste created when panels are damaged during shipment or installation, determined to be defective, become obsolete or reach their end-of-life. High-value recycling can help minimize life-cycle impacts and recover valuable and energy-intensive materials, thereby increasing sustainability within the PV industry.
Recycling of solar equipment is increasingly possible as more recyclers accept modules. PV panels typically consist of glass, aluminum, copper, silver and semiconductor materials that can be successfully recovered and reused. By weight, more than 80 percent of a typical PV panel is glass and aluminum - both common and easy-to-recycle materials.
Public Sector Financing
No! iDEAL Energies solar program requires no upfront cost from the District. You only pay for the energy produced by the solar array at a discount to what you currently pay your utility. You save money day-1!
The total of the power payments.
Yes! Phasing out fossil fuels is causing utilities to upgrade their infrastructure. This means raising rates for all their customers.
(For example, Xcel just proposed raising its rates 20+% over 3 years)
By installing a solar array now, you will lock in your current energy costs during the payback period. After the payback period, you will save on your bottom line by receiving free energy from your solar array for its remaining life (typically ~40 years).
Private Sector Financing
In Xcel Energy territory, commercial solar projects usually pay for themselves in approximately 4 - 5 years. Other utilities may differ in their payback time. Systems are paid for by using a combination of tax benefits (65%) and energy savings (35%).
iDEAL offers a variety of innovative financing options that will result in a cashflow positive investment - Day 1.
Contact iDEAL to discuss the financing option that is right for you.
Yes! Phasing out fossil fuels is causing utilities to upgrade their infrastructure. This means raising rates for all their customers.
(For example, Xcel just proposed raising its rates 20+% over 3 years)
By installing a solar array now, you will lock in your current energy costs during the payback period. After the payback period, you will save on your bottom line by receiving free energy from your solar array for its remaining life (typically ~40 years).